District (Vietnam)

Districts, also known as rural districts or counties, were one of several types of former second-tier administrative subdivisions of Vietnam, the other types being urban districts, provincial cities, municipal cities, and district-level towns. The districts were subdivisions of the first-tier divisions, namely the provinces and municipalities. Districts were subdivided into third-tier units, namely townships and communes.
Districts and the whole second-tier of administrative subdivisions of Vietnam were eliminated in 2025, following a major governmental reform.

History

The districts existed since the 11th century. Prior to 1945 the huyện was also called district and earlier "sub-prefecture" of the prefectures, or phủ into which provinces were previously divided. The administrative reorganization by Minh Mạng of Nguyen dynasty in 1832 did not substantially affect the position of the huyện, but concentrated administration of the level above the huyện, the phủ under new larger unit of the tỉnh and provincial governors. The position of local prefects and district heads remained unaffected.